Bay Area Bonanza, Part 3

Well, I woke up on my second morning in Yosemite with a shiner!:



The night before I’d gone to check out a local bar, where I overheard a biker gang talking about Maria Callas. I simply interjected that I thought Callas had no business singing Carmen. Well that got their goat! Punches flew, chairs were smashed in two…or maybe it happened when, in the middle of the night, I fell off my little bed and went face-first into the nightstand.

Anyhow...it could have been the craniofacial pain, or maybe I’m just an old softie…but when I found someone sitting on my bench this morning, I DID NOT chase him away:



Just don't tell my dad I was nice to a squirrel.

My big plan for the day was a big hike to the top of a waterfall. The popular Mist Trail goes to the base of Vernal Falls and, for the hearty hikers, continues to the top. After about two miles of steep and strenuous trails you finally reach…a series of more than 500 giant steps to get to the top. It’s called the Mist Trail because the falls typically spray all those who brave it with refreshing mists; but being another late-season trickler, we were not so refreshed.

Hiking up (notice the trail coming up on the left):



Halfway there (notice the rainbows):





The view of the top of the falls...not spectacular, but after I hiked all the way up, it's getting posted:



On a random note, there was a good bit of active wildlife, but most of the time they did not cooperate with those of us trying to take pictures. Just lots of deer butts. So here’s one just for the record:



Then I drove up to the northern part of the park, Tuolumne. It’s a beautiful and less-visited area which includes the Olmstead view made famous by Ansel Adams (not that I am tying to invite any comparison to my own photographic skills):





The weather having cleared, the stars are out in full force at night. They were nearly as plentiful as you see in Arizona. I’d never tried star photos with a digital camera, so here are my first attempts. In the first one, you can see the faint bands of the Milky Way:



This one is the same view over the Yosemite Valley as the Tunnel View (see Entry #2) just at night--look closely and you can see the outlines of the landscape (remember...as always...you can click on the picture to enlarge):



One more:



On my last day, I woke up and headed off to see the Ahwahnee Hotel by daylight. It really is an amazing hotel. Highly recommended as a once-in-a-lifetime experience worth the splurge. There’s actually a PBS special called ”Great Lodges” that they run about it every once in a while… keep your eyes out or click the link:







And finally, one last view of El Capitan on my way out of the Valley:



Now I am in Walnut Creek, a nice suburb of SF (“on the East side of the Bay”) for the big wedding. Here’s a photo of Craig from the rehearsal dinner, which was outdoors at a beautiful restaurant called The Blackhawke Grille (he’s third from the left; on the left is his brother Christian, then his mom Jasmine, and his sister Carissa is on the right):



And finally, this is the laundry card in the Walnut Creek Marriott:



I think that “DELIGHTED” to change your sheets (not just “delighted”, but “DELIGHTED”) is a little over-the-top. Also, what’s with the “Just Like Home” Linen Reuse Program? I think they’re calling us filthy bastards.

Bay Area Bonanza, Part 2

Today I spent a lovely day here in Yosemite. I’m staying in Curry Village. It’s certainly a rustic setting. This is my cabin:



It’s the one on the left (#270), with the bench out front. Note that my neighbors on the right only have a rock. Suckers! I’ve decided that if anyone tries to sit on my bench, I’m going to chase them away. The cabin has no plumbing. I’ve stayed at other National Park lodges without a private bath, but at least you have a sink and a toilet in your room. Here you have neither, and need to walk outside in the cold night to get to the men’s room. Needless to say, I’ve tried to avoid fluids after 6PM. And have you ever sat on a toilet in an unheated bathroom on a cold mountain morning? HELLO!

Notice the GENUINE nylon bedding!:



I chose a cabin over a tent, though, because I figured it would be quieter, and you don’t need to lock up your food and scented items (eg, toothpaste) in a bear locker. Bears will bust into cars and tents for that stuff, and you need to sign a waiver when you check in that you won’t leave them there. There’s a $5000 fine if you do! But I digress…

Incidentally, here’s a sign for Curry Village:



Apparently, there are train conductors here, and ear-piercing sounds. But again, I digress…

My first stop of the day was at Bridal Veil Fall:



Some of the waterfalls here are dried up for the season. This one was pretty wispy…the slightest breeze and it wouldn’t reach the bottom.

From here I hit Tunnel View for a great view of Yosemite Valley:



Then I drove up to Glacier Point for more vistas of the Valley:



I created this rather nifty composite panorama to try to give you an idea of the scope. It’s quite an amazing, sweeping view (as always, click on it for a bigger version):



On the way down I noticed this interestingly named hike:



Sadly, I didn’t have time. Which is too bad, because I understand that it also offers terrific views of Gonorrhea Gorge and The Clap Caves.

I headed down to the southern end of the park, near Wawona. Here, at Mariposa, there’s a grove of mighty sequoias:







After hiking around the trees, I headed back to the Valley, in time to return to Tunnel View for sunset:



It was stunning to watch the shadows of the monoliths grow longer across the valley and envelop it in darkness:



That’s all for today. Go back to surfing for porn.

Bay Area Bonanza, Part 1

Well, here it is…the beginning of my blog. Folks claim to enjoy when I send reports from my travels, so this will more advanced than emailing. And if I am so inspired, I may try to post some random musings even when I am at home.

But for the moment, I'm out West (in the Bay Area, as they say). I’m actually here for my friend Craig’s wedding on Friday, but I’m currently in Yosemite National Park. Right now I’m in the lobby of the famed Ahwahnee Hotel. It’s much nicer than the rather primitive accommodations I’m enjoying at the Curry Campground, and offers internet access. Missy Wilson can tell you more about my tendency to stay at two-bit flea-traps next door to fancy hotels—and then mooch their services. And this is quite fancy: a National historic landmark. Here's a picture I swiped off the web of the Great Hall in which I'm sitting:



Global comment: click on photos for a larger view.

Anyhoo, when I arrived in San Francisco I had a few hours to visit my favorite spot in town, Baker Beach. The surf here is always rolling, and there’s a terrific view of the Golden Gate Bridge disappearing into the Marin Headlands:



Incidentally, here is the sign at the entrance to the beach:



If that doesn’t spell good times, I don’t know what does. And being such a beautiful day, TWO different wedding parties arrived for their photo ops:



For the rest of us, the real fun was watching the bride try to walk on sand in a long dress and heels. Her bridesmaids didn’t seem too pleased with the whole thing. Then, because the sun was setting, I went out of my way to watch it from the west end of SF:



I spent the night in Emeryville, just on the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge. It’s an up-and-coming technology town, which was handy for running a few errands in the morning. The only sites of note were a funky apartment building:



And the headquarters of Chiron:



…the biochem company that makes IL-2 and will be out of business once my new drug launches! Perhaps the garbage in front of their sign was an omen…but I digress. My favorite sight in Emeryville was actually on the room service menu at my Sheraton. Every dish was named after something related to San Francisco, including:



Who the hell came up with that one? They should have also had the “We Wish it Was A Better Cut of Meat” Gristle and the “We Wish it Was Chicken” Mystery Meat Platter.

I spent Sunday with my dear college chum Carrie. She just moved into a beautiful house in San Leandro with her girlfriend Bonnie, who was also lovely. I can kick myself that I took no pictures! They have a virtual fruit grove in their backyard, and I got to take some fresh lemons right off the tree! Carrie showed me around the wonders of Oakland and we went for a hike in Redwood Park. Then we met up with Bonnie again for a delicious Indian dinner in her former neighborhood of Rockridge. For those of you who are Mel Brooks fans, I needn’t tell you that Rockridge is the town where Blazing Saddles takes place. And needless to say, I therefore spent the entire day with "The Ballad of Rock Ridge" in my head.

Monday, it was off to Yosemite.



It was only a few hour’s drive, and a beautiful one at that. I got to the park just in time to see the sun set on the famed Half Dome:





I’ll write more after I’ve explored. In the meantime, here are a few random pictures...

Price of gas in Yosemite. Ouch!…Especially when you consider that my baseline (from the last time I owned a car, around 1990) is 95 cents a gallon:




At the same gas station. What to do?!:




A hair salon:



This just seems like a fun name for a restaurant:


If I had no class, I’d make a Hiroshima joke. Wait, I just did.